The final post of birthday shenanigans

Okay, here's the last post about Jackson's birthday. After his super hero birthday party on Saturday afternoon, we made our annual trip to Fritz's at Crown Center (the place where you call in your order and a train delivers it to you!). Chacey got to tag along and that was really special for him!

We had a family birthday party for Jackson on Sunday afternoon--which was his actual birthday. We had cake, ice cream, and of course, more presents.

Here's a quick run down of some of his presents that we (and family) got Jackson. He had some specific requests that he had been asking for, even PRAYING for, so we enlisted grandparents to fulfill his little boy desires. And boy, was it so much fun watching him open his presents. This year was fun to plan because it was almost like a graduation into big kid toys!

He opened Optimus Prime first. This is a "little kid" version of Transformers, so it's not too complicated. He really wanted to play with it, but he wanted to open other presents too, so he kept Optimus really close so he could watch. The Spiderman airplane was Jackson's first official request and to say he was thrilled when he opened it is a true understatement. After presents were done and it was time for cake, Jackson wasn't leaving these guys behind-- they had to join us too!

Daddy picked out a special Iron Man toy. He talks and shoots missiles. I'm not sure who likes the toy more-- Jackson or Daddy.

This was his "big gift". But I found it a few months ago online for a mere $15-- making it cheaper than most of his other gifts. Plus it came with a bunch of extras! 

The thing that Jackson actually prayed about was receiving the Cars 2 DVD. Great Grandpa made it happen and I really, really wish I would have been recording his reaction. He unwrapped it and squealed with delight and his voice got up in octaves that I didn't even know he had. It was so fun to watch!

Jackson also got some puzzles (we've done them all), games, a giant Super Hero Squad coloring book, a bubble machine, action figures, and even a Spiderman toothbrush (that he is very excited about!). He was totally spoiled! One friend gave Jackson a big box of wood scraps, wood glue, and some paint! It was the neatest thing.

He did receive a few items he already has, so we exchanged them and he picked out Bumble Bee and some more Batman action figures for his Bat Cave. Since that moment, Optimus and Bumble Bee have been with Jackson as all times. He even takes them to the bathroom "so they can watch." He always wants to take them with us when we leave, but I have convinced him that they are needed here at the house to keep the bad guys away. It's worked so far. 

But I noticed something today as we were getting ready to run an errand. The kids were in the car and I glanced over behind our flower bed to see Optimus Prime and Bumble Bee placed so perfectly to keep watch of our house. Jackson pulled the blinds a little and placed the Transformers behind a bench so they could see. 

If this attachment to Optimus Prime and Bumble Bee continues, I'm going to have to create some sort of acronym because it is getting ridiculous to type that out each time. 

Four

Last year I did a survey right after Jackson turned 3. Now that he's 4, it's time to revisit the survey and learn about his favorite things right now!

{click on the photo to enlarge so you can read his responses}

You can probably tell that he was a little preoccupied with his new Optimus Prime and Bumble Bee toys. They watched us for the interview.

But this isn't a new love for Optimus and Bumble Bee just because he's excited about his new birthday presents. Before he had the "official" characters, these were Optimus Prime and Bumble Bee. And yes, he did sleep with these guys. 

• His favorite animal being a tiger surprised me as he often pretends to be a dog and is known for sniffing, licking, and eating out of a bowl on the floor. I'm not even joking. 
• The first five times that I asked Jackson what his favorite food/snack/drink-- he replied, "poop" every time and laughed ridiculously. 
• Julie is his best friend. Every time he makes a pretend call with a play phone, he calls her to talk about his day.
• When Jackson said that he loved only Daddy, he did add that "I even love myself." Eventually he came around to finding SOMETHING that he can appreciate about me. 
• Jackson's favorite movies are not only Cars and Cars 2... he went on to say that Cars 3 and Cars 4 are his favorite even though I've tried to explain that those movies don't exist. Pixar, if you're reading this, please make a new Cars movie soon. 
• VBS music-- oh yes. He got a CD of the songs from VBS this summer. He listens to it as he falls asleep and he listens to it while he plays. Every single day. And there are only 7 songs on the CD. I have heard each one about nine million times.
• He wants to grow up to be a firefighter so he can be a helper. And then he wants to be a Daddy like Derek. This was like his answer last year too! I guess this means that Jackson thinks Derek is doing a pretty good job! :)

Papa Johne made us a measuring chart! It's not mounted to my wall yet, but fortunately my library checkouts and my textbooks measured to exactly 6 inches! I never noticed that Jackson was getting so tall! I looked up last years stats and marked them on the chart as well. He grew about 4-5 inches this year.

Jackson thinks he is really big stuff now that he's four. And he even knows he's growing up so fast. Today he said, "I'm starting not to be a kid anymore!" He's like four, going on 18 I guess!! Slow down buddy! :)